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lockdownuk · 4 years

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Lockdown Diary Part 7

A personal account during the lockdown in the UK due to the Covid-19 outbreak.

23/03/2020 8:30pm Boris Johnson, UK Prime Minister, gives a live address to the nation to, effectively, put the country on lockdown to stem the spread of the deadly coronavirus strain, Covid-19.

Many of us have been self-isolating for days but this latest development within the UK in reaction to the pandemic feels very serious and very scary. I decided to keep a simple diary and where better but online.

Day 181: Typing on day 182. I received an email from someone at DSM who had got my CV from Helen Proctor (she was the manager that interviewed me along with the founder) and wants me to interview for a IT business consultant role for a shoe firm (Loakes) in Kettering. I called the chap and had a quick chat and arranged it for Wednesday.

A few beers, as it’s Friday, and caught up via video chat with Foggy and Irish Mike (Foggy’s on quarantine having holidayed in the south of France). It was a late one and they were both pissed, but nice to chat. Andy and Ham were meant to join but were no shows - Ham had his sister’s funeral this week - might explain it.

Day 182: I messaged Ham - he went round his folk’s house after work last night as his two sisters were there. I have to admit, I am ignorant of all of Ham’s brothers and Sisters so he may well have meant one was Preaya in an urn.

Someone on the Oundle Chatter FB group asked about Google Hangouts (on behalf of her son who is attending college and they have online classes using it. I am now about to look into it for her. Why did I get involved. It’s 8pm on a Saturday, ffs!

Update, I researched it and messaged her - seems I hit a nail on the head and she seemed suitably grateful. Booze and pizza coming right up (at 9:15pm)

Day 183: Up at just before 2pm - I drank shed loads last night and went to bed after 4am. Faffed about but did manage my stair climb, a 10km walk and I am now making a roast dinner-ish tea (chicken breast stuffed with red leicester and wrapped in bacon) with all the veg and yorkies (I am trying to empty the freezer as it needs defrosting).

Day 184: I posted on FB that today was half a leap year of lockdown (that’s wrong, should have been yesterday). Rachel replied that it isn’t lockdown anymore. I replied that it is for me but that got me thinking - are we officially in lockdown still? Checked, and we are. Posted that on the same thread and Badger replied that the current level of lockdown has been uprated to level 4, whatever that actually means. Rachel’s post worries me - 1. ‘cos it’s indictative of the far-too-relaxed attitude and, 2. I wasn’t even sure even though I’m still observing the same lockdown behaviour that I was before Boris made his announce on March 23rd. Scary how facts bleed into fiction.

Jim contacted me today, asked me to call. I did so, he says I’ll be asked to return to work (from home) on the 5th October (two weeks). Shirley from HR will be in contact. I’ll believe when I see the email from her!

Day 185: Boris announced a tightening of the relaxed lockdown including pubs shutting at 10pm. None of it really affects me since I’m still in as full a lockdown as when it started.

Received an email from John Morton at DSM for an interview at Loakes tomorrow (Wed) at 09:30am.

Received a Facebook message from the editor at Oundle Chronicle - he wants to do a short article about the photos I take and post on the Oundle Chatter fb group.

Day 186: Interview went ok.

Called Dad and Rita to let them know that I received an email from RCI confirming that I will be back at work on the 5th of October.

In the evening, Facebook had posts concerning somebody walking round Creed Road with a knife in his hand, and the police getting involved!

Day 187: Spend spend spend. Paid my speeding fine today £357, my water bill £147, bought two new duvet cover sets and two new sheets £58, a new pair of walking boots (my relatively new Hi-Tec are leaking and falling apart) £75. Oh, and the car insurance renews day after tomorrow, £230. Thank fucking fuck I’m being taken off furlough!

Day 188: Friday and I’m going to have a few beers and watch a couple of films. I’ve been trawling through Seinfeld and am most the way through S3, and it’s brilliant. The Kramer character is mentally good. One episode had the actress who played Janice in Friends - that episode is a classic - which also included an scene whereby the cast are all exclaiming ‘Saturday night’ similar to the Friends TikTok trend. Got a call this morning about a service delivery lead role for EPM, a education service provider, based in Huntingdon. It’s a good role, very involved, reporting directly to the head of IT. But it’s only £32k pa. I replied to the email the recruiter subsequently sent to say I am interested but that salary is less than £5k pa than I am on now as a 2nd line support techie! Lastly, I am well on my way to doing 500,000 steps in September!

Day 189: I was woken by the doorbell - a delivery of one of the duvet cover sets. On the door mat was a missed parcel delivery note from Ryal Mail (I have to get whatever it is from Warmington PO) and a note from next door (No. 34) asking for me to turn my music down at 10.30pm. That’s fair enough but....10.30pm! What are they, 80 years old? I have felt low today. There is no rhyme nor reason as to my moods suffice to say I am not of the happiest dispostion on a permanent basis, resigned to being alone. In fact, I have come to terms with the fact I’ll die alone but, it seems, some days I cope with it a lot worse than others. On that cheery note, it’s 8.45 pm on a Saturday night so, I am about to launch into some beers, weed and pizza. I think tonight I’ll seek out the second John Wick film - watch the first last night - so fucking good. You gotta love Keanu!

Day 190: Hopefully the last Sunday of having an enforced no-work-on-Monday so I’m going to have a beer or two (it’s now 8:20pm - just cracked open a Bud), watch American Sniper and eat Chilli and naan bread and onion rings. I did a 12 km walk today - I recall a time when 40-45 minuts walking was enough. Today’s walk was 2 hours! I know it’s only walking but I feel fitter than I have for years; still unfit, but fitter. Day 191: Well, I enjoyed the decadence of boozing last night but it meant getting up at after midday! Still managed two walks, trip to Tesco’s in Hampton after picking up the mystery parcel from Warmington PO. It was two unknown bottles of beer for a marketing campaign I entered a few days ago! I have to not open the beers until I receive instruction whereby I’ll be joining in with other drinkers in video chat! Day 192: Smahed 500k steps for September with one day to go! Cleaned the kitchen - I’m going to do the whole house over the next few days while I have the free time since I’m back to work on Monday. The lad from next door called round this eveing to ask if I got the note. When I said yes, he told me they (he and his partner) can still hear music. FFS! I asked where their bedroom was, it’s along side mine, so I guess it’s the TV sound that is travelling up and disturbing them. Great, fuck knows what I should do if I want to watch anything after 10:30pm. I suppose going back to work is good timing..I shall be going to bed around that time myself, especially if I want to get up early to get a walk in before starting at 09.00 am.

Day 193: Typing on day 194. Only managed one walk today, before 9.00am. It made a great change walking that early. I then set about doing housework (which I started yesterday) - I want to clean the house from top to bottom before going back to work. i.e. while I have time during the working week. I did the Kitchen yesterday and the whole lounge today. It’s fucking knackering. I managed 519k steps in September, works out at 9.6 miles per day, which is good and, also, annoying. I have taken delivery and laundered all my new bedding. It’s brushed cotton lushness, can’t wait to try it. Last ‘happy hour’ of (this current) furlough, so I had beers (and a fucking spicey sausage casserole)...hence penning this a day late.

Day 194: I didn’t get out of bed until nearly 2pm, FFS. Spome with Ricky Roberts about kayaking, it sound sliek something I could take up but, I would need to join the boat club to have somewhere to get in and out!

Day 195: Sueanne from work called to let me know she’s taking over from Jim ‘til new yer and that the team are looking forward to my return - lovely. Dad called, he and Rita are fine as usual - lovely.

Day 196: Got up fater 2pm. I was seriously fucking wasted last night. Had a video chat with Fog - just checked, it ended at 02.04am and I did a lot more drinking and smoking after that. I still managed a 9.7km walk and am now going to settle down to a few (just a few!) beers, shepherds pie and watch Casino. Day 197: Quiet Sunday with some bizarre results in Super Sunday in the prem. Man U lost at home to Spurs 1-6 and Liverpool were thrashed at Villa Park, 7-2. Work tomorrow, feeling a little apprehensive, not sure why. Got to go to the office (to reset password) at 09.00am

Day 198: Back to work. It went OK. I had to go to the office so that my a/c could be enabled and password reset and t get VPN working. There were a few problems but I was back home and logged in OK in the afternoon. Saw Mark in the office - he’s lost weight and was telling me about a cycling accident - I knew about it, but I didn’t realise he had been in hospital and had a plate put in his shoulder. He also has the exact same issue with codeine as me! I am pleased to be back at work but it’s different - no Jim and Sueanne in charge is the main thing. I’m just going to keep my head down; it’ll be for the best.

Day 199: Second day back at work and I’m (trying to) crack on with it. It’s all coming back... New walking boots arrived today (I have them on as I type); I reckon I’ll be OK to walk in them with no breaking in. That’s just as well as my evening walk took me by the marina and the path between the lock, the small bridge and, especially, the larger bridge into the field at the bottom of Basset Ford Road was flooded, no way my boots will be dry for tomorrow. I did my stair climb before work, 3.5 km walk at lunchtime and then a long, second one, as mentioned, later. I want to try and do a short walk before work in future, hopefully. On the way back from the lunchtime walk, I saw the lad from next door who thanked for me keeping the music down as per the note he left, so, that’s all good.

Day 200: I’ve started a work diary, à la ENDC....nowhere as urgently required but I just think it’s a good idea.

I wore my new boots for the lunchtime walk (3.6km) and they’re fine. However, I didn’t use them in the evening, they niggled the left foot a bit, so some breaking in is required. My usual ones were just about dry enough having been sat on the radiator! Day 201: Popped into the office today to pick up my full headset dongle, did a quick shop at Asda. So, only one walk today. I have not yet managed to get a walk in before work, just the stair climb, so missed out on a lunchtime walk today since I was shopping. Did 8.5km in the evening. Bought a card online for K’s birthday. Not sure why, we seem not to be communicating - I haven’t heard from her for over a month now which, as mentioned before, I shouldn’t find as hard as I do. The card’s pretty cool though, a quip about just getting a card as a present would involve non-essential travel. Now I am back at work, I want a to do loist app. I recall a smart one that was a linear/curved affair that I saw on Producthunt but, fuck me, I couldn’t find it after over an hour looking. Then I checked Google apps and there it was (Lightpad.ai) - I was chuffed and relieved. The lad from oundle School has been trying to get hold of me via Messenger (he tells me by email) so he can interview for the article in the Chronicle. He has pencilled in Saturday at 6pm.Fuck knows if it will go ahead, the whole thing is sketchy. Day 202: First week back at work over and done. I ordered some stuff from Amazon (slippers and socks) and they offered a free trial of Prime, which is the norm, but, seeing as I have had a free trial under that a/c, I assumed it would error, as I have seen before. This time it didn’t! So, tonight, I just about to have some beers, eat pizza and watch The Gentlemen,. It was suggested by Miles on FB when I asked for recommendations. It’s been on my to-watch list since its release. I need some cheering up, I’m having a low ebb today.Day 203: Typing on day 204. The Gentlemen was pretty good. I had lots of beers and smoke and went to bed fucking late, gone 4am. Up at lunchtime. I was meant to be going up Foggy’s for a few beers and to listen to Cobblers vs Posh but I sacked that off. I went for a walk at tea time when it got dark fucking quick and pissed down. I didn’t mind ‘cos Posh won 0-2. I watched two films in the evening: Master and Commander: Far Side of the World and Official Secrets. Both excellent. Day 204: Another late night, so up at just before 2pm. 12.64 km walk! I’m going to make stirfry and watch Knives Out...taking advantage of Amazon Prime.Day 205: I didn’t watch Knives Out last night, Amazon Prime was playing up. Tonight, however, after uninstalling and reinstalling the LG app, it’s working again. But, rather than a film, I have started watching The Boys series. 3/4 through the first episode and I’m kinda hooked. Another long walk tonight (I didn’t go out before work or at lunchtime), over 5 miles. My new boots are a marvel...they’re still new - I can tell I’ve got a little bit of wearing in still to do, but, pretty much from the off, I can walk long distances in them. I’m impressed. I think, because they are so light, they may be susceptible to the cold, especially now I can walk for longer periods without hypo-ing. The snow and frost will be the test.Day 206: Bit of a frustrating day at work. I am pleased I have a diary of events to update, that’s all I will say on this potentially public diary. Had a chat with Mark about certain aspects of the day, it was a good chat whereby he agreed with some of my gripes. In the evening I took part in a Ipsos marketing test of two beers with a whole bunch of people online. Ultimately, you have to choose one of two beers you prefer and answer questions why. It’s then revelaed which beer you chose. The beer I iked best was Stella but 4.6%, I think that’s the next product iine for them. You don’t get to find out the other beer. I shoudl recieve a £15 amazon voucher for partaking. If that actually happens, I’m going to buy a pair of gaiters. My new boots are fab (although I did turn my ankle last night) but their insides don’t half attract gravel and debris.Day 207: A productive day incorporating ToDoist with work and GCal, I have sacked off Lightpad.ai (it was too cumbersome moving tasks between dates) - so I managed to tick a few things off the task list as a result (responding to Jo Broom’s voicemail, chasing an eye appointmen, for example). Tim came round and did the garden, nice chinwag. I saw little Derek the other day, as well, he’s not coping great with the whole pandemic atm, certainly now lockdown has relaxed, he’s not as social as before. Day 208: Had a chat with Sueanne today, which is not unusal, and I was asking about creating KBs...she remarked how well, and quickly, I getting up to speed. It pleased me. I am having battered fishcakes, potato wedges and peas for tea. I am looking forward to it the most ridiculous amount (it’s cooking as I type). I shall eat as I watch more of the rather excellent The Boys. Seinfeld is on the back burner atm. Day 209: Emily Folgate’s room mate at uni has tested positive for Covid19! Marc’s avoiding the pub and I am glad I didn’t pop up there last Saturday! Bumped into Ash and Dee when i walked past the vets, chatted for 5 mins, it was really nice to see them. The lady next door (38) stopped me outside to say she recently realised that it was me who posts photos to FB, and said they’re ‘amazing’! End of week 2 back at work. As I type, I’m on my first beer, about to have many more and a smoke, half way through The Trial of the Chicago 7 on Netflix. Living the dream! Day 210: Things got messy last night. Sugar levels were a mess. I couldn’t even make it upstairs at one point, laid down on the long rug nursing a big bottle of coke. Got up at around 1pm and did usual shit, now having a beer, spicy sausage casserole in the oven (and it is fucking spicy) and I’ll pick a film to watch in a bit. Posh won, 2-0 at home to Oxford, up to 4th, one point behind Lincoln.

#diary #Tumblr diary #lockdown #covid19 #lockdownuk

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migleefulmoments · 4 years

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Let me help you understand the “confusion” over CDAN’s Blind

Crazy Days and Nights mentioned Darren and Mia in a podcast and then wrote a blind on his website. The cc fandom is confused and I want to take a moment and explain it for those who are looking for the truth.

First the Podcast mention:

mmack0621 @ajw720 I mentioned trouble in paradise, but this is what Enty said so no one can get mad at us & think we made it up. He said last night quote "Oooo...a little speculation, a little gossip that's probably gonna turn into a blind item tomorrow. But I think DC might be having some marriage issues. He has not been going out with his "wife" lately. He has been heading to events solo. So we'll have to see how that goes. " It was 36 minutes into about a 42 minute podcast. It caught my attention because D is one of the people that he rarely has gossip on. Who knows what's going on?! 🤷‍♀️

The Blind:

Now the MOST IMPORTANT PART: CDAN’s Disclaimer

“CRAZY DAYS AND NIGHTS IS A GOSSIP SITE. THE SITE PUBLISHES RUMORS, CONJECTURE, AND FICTION. IN ADDITION TO ACCURATELY REPORTED INFORMATION, CERTAIN SITUATIONS, CHARACTERS AND EVENTS PORTRAYED IN THE BLOG ARE EITHER PRODUCTS OF THE AUTHOR’S IMAGINATION OR ARE USED FICTITIOUSLY. INFORMATION ON THIS SITE MAY CONTAIN ERRORS OR INACCURACIES; THE BLOG’S PROPRIETOR DOES NOT MAKE WARRANTY AS TO THE CORRECTNESS OR RELIABILITY OF THE SITE'S CONTENT. LINKS TO CONTENT ON AND QUOTATION OF MATERIAL FROM OTHER SITES ARE NOT THE RESPONSIBILITY OF CRAZY DAYS AND NIGHTS.”

CDAN admits it publishes fiction-LIES- and items which are “figments of the author's imagination”. That should tell you enough about the viability of the stories Enty publishes and yet, Abby and the cc fandom have a long history of accepting CDAN’s blinds as truth regardless of how illogical and irrational they are. Enty is claiming that Darren and Mia are having problems in their marriage and his only evidence is his suggestion that Darren is attending events without his wife. Missing an event hardly proves marital discord, but the claim isn’t even true! Mia has been by Darren’s side for the vast majority of the events he’s attended since the wedding. The only event she didn’t go to that I can think of in the last 2 months is the quick trip to NYC for the Barry’s event. Maybe she missed another event but certainly not more than 1 or 2.

The interesting thing is that the cc Anons KNOW this blind isn’t true and a few have brought it up to Abby. Instead of outright rejecting the blind as a lie, Abby is calling it “confusing” as if that is a position one can take when confronted with lies.

CDAN fabricates gossip in order to drive traffic to it’s website and pod. It’s PR 101-write salacious items and the gossip-hungry people will come running. Enty doesn’t care if it’s true, partially true or even a little true. He is relying on the fact that too many people in 2019 are willing to be conned, lied to and gaslighted if only it will prove their previously held beliefs are true. Enty doesn’t care that he’s hurting real people or that he’s lying. Lying and hurting people is what he does so it is up to the reader to be smarter than he is and protect oneself from his lies and keep oneself from being scammed.

Here are some of the cc comments in reverse chronological order for context:.

Hi nonnies! Seems to me she’s mostly everywhere. He did get the prior nyc trip on his own. Ofc he’s there now for her step brother’s wedding.

But the blind was confirmed to be him. I’m just reporting the news. I think collectively we are confused.

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She is keeping her anons together by making this a “we” thing- “We are all in this together”. Abby is saying “Don’t think for yourself, I’ve done that already and I’ve determined that we are collectively confused”.

Anonymous asked: One of the gossip web sites has recently posted about a closeted actor and his wife having marital problems. A couple of replies assumed it to be D/darren C. Who plants these items? Is the purpose just to get publicity?

ajw720 answered: According to @mmack0621 it’s absolutely d as he was also mentioned on the podcast. Why? We don’t know.

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Here Abby gets it confused. She has an erroneous understanding about how PR works and how gossip sites get their information. A successful working actor does not want to be on CDAN. While all publicity is good publicity, being on a website that routinely publishes salacious lies is not the kind of publicity Darren wants or needs. Enty makes money by getting clicks on his website- he uses Google Ads and listeners to his podcast who listen to commercials from his “sponsors” (I presume, I’ve never listened to the pod nor will I ever, even for research. The other option would be, he charges subscribers a subscription fee). Darren gets nothing positive out of Enty posting blinds that say his marriage is in trouble or he’s gay. Celebs have enough trouble getting their truth out into this gossip-drive society, the ls thing they want is to do it through blinds on a site that admits it makes up stories for clicks. Abby likes to pretend that Darren or his team or Mia submit info to gossip sites and call paparazzi because it fits HER storyline. LIke Enty, Abby,

“Publishes rumors, conjecture, and fiction. in addition to accurately reported information. Nearly 100% of the situations, characters and events portrayed on Abby’s blog are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously”.

Let me be clear, NOBODY on Darren’s team -including his wife- ever call the paparazzi or gossip websites. They all have much more effective and efficient methods of getting the information they make public. Gossip sites exist solely to make money for their owners. Struggling D-list actors and reality stars have learned to manipulate tabloids in order to get their own names and images published but anyone of Darren’s caliber has better ways of doing that that allow him 100% of the control. When you call a tabloid or a pap, you lose control of the narrative. Celebs in 2019 have access to their own PR teams, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and if they wanted to have a longer conversation, someone of Darren’s status would have access to much more traditional and reliable media organizations like TV networks, NYT, WaPO, even People Magazine which is on another level from CDAN. l is calling Enty though I am sure that ccers are sending him “intel” they fabricated.

klainecentric Now I'm interested in which article, I don't want my bubble to burst and my hope to dwindle, but this is good news. The last couple of RC events were very telling.

leka-1998 @klainecentric you can find it here.

ajw720 Apparently on the podcast he was mentioned by name and he said trouble in paradise. Not sure what paradise he’s referring to. M is anything but paradise and that fraud of a marriage is a nightmare. But if this is perhaps d&c hinting there’s trouble. I’m cool with it. But not getting my hopes up.

Taking what we know that CDAN lies and the fact that we have seen plenty of evidence that Darren and Mia have been attending events together, the rationale and logical conclusion is that Enty fabricated the story in order to get clicks on his website and listeners to his podcast. The logical conclusion is that it is a flat-out lie. It is not rational to conclude that something “confusing” is going on.

Why the cc fandom never learns from their mistakes.

This is another concrete example of Abby taking everything as confirmation bias instead of accepting she is wrong and learning from that. She has been pushing a narrative that Darren and Mia are going to get divorced sometime around their first anniversary and everything is simply confirmation bias for that narraitive. This is a perfect example of how the rationale and intelligent resonse to CDAN’s comment is to Once again, the fandom is trying to shove a square peg into a round hole and it just doesn’t fit.

Another important lesson needs to be addressed: It is true that sometimes a lot of tabloids will start pushing stories that someone has cheated. We can use the example of Justin Timberlake this week. Justin was seen at a party holding hands with his costar. Lots of media sites ran the story because there were photos (X) and Justin Apologized to Jessica about his lapse in judgment. Fox, CNN, Yahoo Entertainment, Fox Business, NBC 10, People, TMZ, US Weekly, and The Guardian-just to name a few-ran the story. Compare that to CDAN’s claim that Darren’s marriage is in trouble-the ONLY site who ran the story is a site who admits on its front page that it “PUBLISHES RUMORS, CONJECTURE, AND FICTION. IN ADDITION TO ACCURATELY REPORTED INFORMATION, CERTAIN SITUATIONS, CHARACTERS AND EVENTS PORTRAYED IN THE BLOG ARE EITHER PRODUCTS OF THE AUTHOR’S IMAGINATION OR ARE USED FICTITIOUSLY”.

#cc #ccer #cc fandom #crisscolfer #mia love darren

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nancygduarteus · 5 years

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AirPods Are the New Cubicles

Once upon a time, offices had walls inside them. They weren’t glass, like the conference rooms of 2019, but made of drywall and usually painted a neutral color, like many of the walls you know and love. Over time, office walls gave way to cubicles. Now, for many office workers, the cubicles are also gone. There are only desks.

If you’re under 40, you might have never experienced the joy of walls at work. In the late 1990s, open offices started to catch on among influential employers—especially those in the booming tech industry. The pitch from designers was twofold: Physically separating employees wasted space (and therefore money), and keeping workers apart was bad for collaboration. Other companies emulated the early adopters. In 2017, a survey estimated that 68 percent of American offices had low or no separation between workers.

Now that open offices are the norm, their limitations have become clear. Research indicates that removing partitions is actually much worse for collaborative work and productivity than closed offices ever were. But something as expensive and logistically complicated as an office design is difficult to walk back, so as Jeff Goldblum wisely intones in Jurassic Park, life finds a way. In offices where there are no walls, millions of workers have embraced a workaround to reclaim a little bit of privacy: wireless headphones.

The arrival of these now-ubiquitous devices has ushered in a new era of office etiquette—and created a whole new set of problems.

Beyond their tethered forebears, Bluetooth wireless headphones are convenient because they allow workers to forget they’re wearing a device and leave their desks without yanking their laptops onto the floor. In open offices, people commonly wander around with their headphones on all day, into bathrooms and kitchens, sometimes listen to nothing at all in order to avoid the constant distraction of compulsory social interaction.

We have Apple to thank for wireless headphones’ proliferation. The tech giant launched its tiny, white AirPods in late 2016 to accompany new iPhones that lacked a traditional headphone jack. Despite initial concern that having two plastic sticks poking out of your ears might look insurmountably lame, AirPods have avoided the demise of other wearable tech like Google Glass by being immediately useful. Industry analysts estimate that tens of millions of pairs of AirPods have been sold already, accounting for as much as 85 percent of the wireless-headphone market. The earbuds even star in ultra-viral videos and TikTok memes as a joke-y symbol of wealth among teens.

For Americans who have already joined the office workforce, AirPods serve a different purpose: tuning out your coworkers without looking excessively hostile. In that capacity, they’ve become indispensable to lots of people, because the hard surfaces, high ceilings, and empty spaces common in open offices help sounds carry. There’s rarely any soft surfaces to dampen them. Jerrick Haddad, a 35-year-old social media strategist in Brooklyn, won’t go to his open office without them. “We moved from offices to an open plan two years ago, and wireless headphones are why I haven’t quit,” he says. “One day I forgot them, and I got up and walked straight to the Apple store to buy a pair of AirPods.”

The same is true for Antigua Samuelson, a 29-year-old Los Angeles resident who works for a medical-marijuana wholesaler. She watches Netflix or Hulu at her desk during slow periods, and without her AirPods, she’d have to find another way to fill significant amounts of idle time. “If I forget to bring them with me, I will go back home and get them,” she says.

According to Ethan Bernstein, a professor at Harvard Business School who studies organizational behavior, it makes sense that this subtle tactic for avoiding constant interaction has seeped into office environments. “People are very good at creating spaces for themselves, and these days you look at everybody, and almost without exception, they’re on their phones with headphones in their ears,” he says. In a 2018 study, Bernstein and his team found that open offices decrease face-to-face interactions among coworkers by as much as 70 percent, in stark contrast to designers’ stated goals of collaborative teamwork.

The proliferation of small, wireless headphones may exacerbate that effect. Since you don’t have to remove AirPods to wander around the office, it can be hard for your coworkers to tell if you’re listening to music or on a conference call, or if you’ve simply forgotten to take them out. For Samuelson, sometimes that’s the point. “Once in a while, I’ll pretend to have them on just so I can eavesdrop on what people are saying,” she admits. And for people who find music as distracting as they find their coworkers, putting on their quiet headphones can be as much of a visual signal as it is an attempt to dampen ambient noise.

It’s not a perfect system. David Grilli, a 33-year-old IT professional, uses his headphones to signal that he wants to be left alone, but the message doesn’t always translate. His coworkers “stand in your field of vision until you take notice and ask what they need, or they start talking immediately as if you're not wearing headphones,” he says. Grilli’s coworkers might just need his attention at inopportune moments, but could also be true that office workers are becoming so used to seeing each other in headphones that they barely register them.

For women, there’s often an extra wrinkle: Wireless earbuds are often so small that they’re entirely invisible under long hair. Bernstein suggests that to send a clearer do-not-disturb signal to colleagues, people might consider larger, over-ear models.

Employers can do some things to help with the confusion, like retrofitting a space with small, private phone booths to give employees somewhere to escape. That solves another headphone problem, too: Even when people can see your AirPods, they still don’t know what you’re doing with them. A person quietly sitting in on a conference call looks pretty similar to a person who’s focused on work while listening to soothing nature sounds or who’s checking Facebook while listening to nothing at all. This ambiguity has prompted a whole new visual language meant to mime the difference to unsuspecting desk-mates. To perform its most common gesture, which indicates that you are on a call, you dramatically motion to your ears while making a face that communicates a sense of semi-smug capitulation: You, too, are currently being inconvenienced by your own importance.

“I do a lot of strategic hair-tucking, gesturing at my ears, and phone-pointing,” says Lisa Derus, a 31-year-old publicist who frequently uses her AirPods for calls both on her long commute between Connecticut and New York City and in her open-plan office. “I learned the hard way that the same ear-tapping motion I'd historically used to signal ‘I'm on the phone’ is the exact same gesture that ends phone calls on my AirPods.”

According to the design psychologist Sally Augustin, all of this irritation has come about because open offices ignore some essential elements of human psychological development. “We get revved up just being around other people, so in a workplace you’ve always got that force energizing you,” she says. “When you’re doing intellectual work, you’ll do it better in an environment that’s generally less energizing.” Although headphones can help filter auditory interruptions, they can’t block visual ones, which Augustin says can be just as disruptive to performance and focus.

AirPods also can’t change the fact that you’re just sitting in the middle of an open room, which Augustin notes is stressful no matter what you’re doing. “When you can be approached from the rear, a little part of your brain is always vigilant,” she says. “It’s not about what you’re looking at on your screen or anything. It’s much more fundamental than that.”

The good news is that trends are already turning away from open offices in favor of designs that have a range of space types, including those that allow workers privacy and relief from constant stimulation. “This is how humans work,” Augustin explains. Evolutionarily, our open-plan stress response goes back to a time long before office politics. “We like to think we’ve come so far from our days on the savanna, but maybe not.”

from Health News And Updates https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2019/04/airpods-open-plan-offices/588112/?utm_source=feed

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ionecoffman · 5 years

Text

AirPods Are the New Cubicles

The arrival of these now-ubiquitous devices has ushered in a new era of office etiquette—and created a whole new set of problems.

Article source here:The Atlantic

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